Lost in Paradise
by Seirrastar
Summary: Amu is a depressed girl who only lives for her dreams while she sleeps. She goes to a magical world with the only person she truly cares about, a boy named Ikuto. However, things start going wrong. The threads that hold the worlds together are coming undone and Amu must do something about it or face losing Ikuto forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Only in My Dreams**

**A/N: Okay, so I randomly wrote this in study hall one day. At the time I thought it was a good idea. The writing's a bit rough and choppy so sorry about that. It's more of a draft than a first chapter. Let me know what you think, since I'm not sure if I should continue this. Thanks for reading!**

Amu sat in class, hand cupping her chin as she tried to stay awake. The teacher's words buzzed around her head like flies. She tried to care, she really did. It just wasn't worth it though. Then the bell rang. Sweet relief.

She sat at a lunch table with some people. Nagihiko, Rima, Kairi, Kukai. They all were friends since middle school. Amu was never very social, but she hung out with them. They had defended her when she was being teased, which in result formed the bond of their friendship. It lasted through the years with a few changes. Nagihiko and Rima started dating freshman year, making them inseparable. Kukai gained a lot of popularity through sports and dating a popular girl named Utau. Kairi was most like Amu though. He isolated himself because he was always studying for his AP classes, not having much time for social events.

Kukai, Rima, and Nagi were talking about some movie they were seeing that night. Amu never made plans for the weekend and did bother to this time. She took a bit of her turkey and mayonnaise sandwich and cracked open a book.

Kairi said, "You read a lot of books, not even ones for class." Amu just shrugged. She loved to read, any genre. She read the classics, Milton, Whitman, Kerouac, as well as the latest vampire romance novels. She read trashy romance novels and manga along side self-help and nonfiction books. She read it all. Any escape was a mercy.

The rest of the day went by in a daze. She was relieved that no one was there when she got home. She looked at her calendar. A month left of school until she graduated. She didn't even know if she would last even that long. In the fall she would be going to a big state college with Rima as her roommate and Nagi and Kukai. Kairi was going to Yale. They say it'll get better, but school is school. Amu still wasn't looking forward to it. Amu read for the rest of the night until she fell asleep.

Other than reading, sleep was the only thing where Amu could find peace. Amu looked forward to the time where she could crawl in bed. It was like she was drowning in an ocean and her dreams were the raft that pulled her ashore.

That night her dreams were just like any other. They were all the same setting. It was in a big city, not like any Amu had ever been. It was different, magical even. She had a whole other life there. Where the only person she truly cared about was. His name was Ikuto.

That night, or day since it was light out in her dream, Amu and Ikuto met for coffee. She had a latte while he drank straight black, no sugar or cream. Amu was always amazed that he could do that. They conversed about the weather and current events, the usual small talk. Ikuto had a different take on everything, though. He really thought about people and their emotions. Amu envied that so much. She tried to look at life that way but was unsuccessful. During this conversation, they looked up to see a flash of light and—

Amu woke up. She groaned and hit her annoying alarm clock, wanting to go back to Ikuto.


	2. Chapter 2

Amu woke up with a start. What in the world happened? She was disappointed as she looked around her ordinary bedroom, book shelves lining the walls. She was back in the real world instead of her beautiful dream. She looked over at the clock. It was only four in the morning, which was unusual for her to wake up in the middle of the night. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, wanting to go back to sleep. She then noticed something smooth and round under her covers. She grabbed the warm object and flipped on her lamp by her bed to inspect the object. It was an egg. Amu had laid an egg in her sleep.

What is going on? She knew the processes of childbirth from all her readings and google searches. Some of the diagrams she found online were very thorough.

Deciding that it was impossible to lay the egg unless she turned into a duck in the middle of the night, Amu inspected it even more. It was a yellow egg with black plaid stripes and in the middle there was a black strip with yellow diamonds in the middle. It was very pretty and seemed to glow.

Amu, like any rational person would do, decided to google her situation. She typed in 'humans finding an egg in their bed in the middle of the night.' All she found were animals or bugs that did it. She looked around her room and found nothing out of the ordinary. She also didn't think that an animal could have laid something that looked like an easter egg.

A few hours later Amu's cell phone rang. It was Rima.

"Hey, girl!" She said excitedly when Amu answered. "Guess what we are doing tonight?"

Amu sighed. "What?"

"You are going out with us tonight." Rima said. Amu sighed. Even though they were friends, Amu didn't really like hanging out with them. It was like she was the third wheel on her own group of friends. She just didn't relate to them. She started to decline the offer when Rima cut her off.

"School's almost over! You need to have some fun! And I got you a date."

A date? That was a first. However, Amu still wasn't interested. Rima had already said that they'd be picking her up at six and she better look cute. Amu rolled her eyes. She figured she better comply or there would be hell to pay on Monday. She took a shower and then went into her closet to look at her options. She wasn't a very fashionable person so she picked out a pair of skinny jeans, some black boots, and a black lacy tank top her mom had given her for her birthday. She cracked open a book and waited for her ride to show up.

Amu looked up when she heard car honking. She looked out the window to see Nagihiko's car parked in her driveway. She went outside and hopped in the back seat of the car. Much to her surprise, she saw Kairi also in the back.

"This is your date!" Rima said excitedly. They awkwardly smiled at each other. It wasn't that she didn't like Kairi, Amu just didn't think of date material. It surprised her to even see him go out so close to finals. They arrived at their destination Fill My Cup. It was kind of like a coffeehouse, but their was also loud music with dancing and they served more than just coffee. They ordered their drinks and snagged a table in the middle of the room. Rima and Nagi started talking excitedly about their summer plans while Amu and Kairi awkwardly sat next to each other in silence. Amu sipped her chai tea trying to get a conversation topic started. After a few moments, Kairi spoke up.

"So what are your plans for next year?"

"Nothing all that special. I'm going to Sitka State next year."

"Oh, no way. Same here."

"Cool. What are you majoring in?"

"General physics for now. You?"

"Literature."

"Of course. You and your books."

Amu smiled to herself. That was the one thing she and Kairi had in common. Though Kairi read textbooks and actually did well in class, while Amu read fantasies and struggled to maintain her B average. Amu had been surprised that she got into that school. She supposed that most students that come there are in the school of science, which is one of the best in the nation, so it was very selective and only the best got in. Their literature program barely made standards, so it was way less selective.

Kukai and Utau came up to their table. Rima then announced she wanted to go dancing. After much convincing, Amu reluctantly went with them. At first they all danced in a big group to some pop song that just came out. Amu didn't like music but she couldn't help but get into it. It was very unlike her. Then a slow song came on and she awkwardly danced with Kairi.

After awhile he said, "You know, I've liked you for a long time now."

"What?" Amu said, surprised.

Kairi then blushed and stammered his declaration of love again.

"I heard you the first time. I'm just shocked is all. I really like you, too. I just can't see us more than friends."

"Okay." He said, trying to get things to go back to normal.

Amu felt bad. No one had ever said that to her before or actually go out on a date with her. If one called this a date. She was in no position to be turning down boyfriends, but all she could think about was the boy in her dreams.

When Amu got back to her house, she immediately went to bed. She fell asleep and dreamed of-

Nothing. It wasn't that she didn't dream. She went to her special dream world, but there was nothing there. There was just a bunch of rubble. It looked like a bomb had hit it.

The next few weeks was a dark time for Amu. Her depression was out of control. She didn't want to do anything. She didn't read anymore and she went to her classes in a haze, not paying attention at all. She somehow managed to pass all her classes and graduate. All she wanted to do was sleep. She would stare at the ceiling for hours, lying in her bed. After awhile she just couldn't take the pain. She got a knife from the kitchen and took it up to her room. She watched the light bounce off the blade and glisten. She raised it, but something stopped her.

Specifically, it was a voice cried out, "Stop!"

**A/N: So again, not sure where I'm going with this. I kind of had an idea in my head, then it kind of became something else. This is in fact an amuto fanfic so Ikuto will be back at some point in time. Just not for awhile unfortunately. Now that its summer, I'm super excited because I have so much more time to write!**


	3. Chapter 3

Amu looked up to see a tiny person flying toward her. The girl was wearing a yellow dress, had her orange hair in pigtails, and wore a headband with a diamond on it.

"Please, stop, Amu. I know you don't mean it. You're just sad and hurt, but you don't hate yourself. You don't really want to kill yourself."

"Who are you?"

"That is a complicated question. My name is Dia. I'm kind of like a guardian."

"Why are you here?"

"Not sure myself. I know that I'm from Dreamworld. The place that you often travel to in your sleep."

"It's called Dreamworld? It's an actual place?"

"Sort of. It's actually a virtual reality that stems from my home world."

Amu tried to wrap her head around what she was saying. She couldn't help but be excited though. The world was real! It wasn't just Amu's wild imagination.

"However, the world was attacked by some sort of virus. It destroyed Dreamworld and sent my world in complete chaos. I was sent here because the virus originates from this world and is starting to infect it as well."

"What? How!"

"Again, not sure. Hopefully we'll catch this thing quickly. But for you, you are going to help me."

"How?"

"You can travel across worlds. You went to Dreamworld without using the virtual reality simulator. It's a very special gift. It's the power of the stars. I also have the same power, so when I was traveling here, I found you."

The words 'travel across worlds' echoed in Amu's brain. She had often read about it in all her fantasy books, but never imagined that anything would happen until now. She sat down with a thud on her bed.

"So what do I do?" Amu asked.

"Nothing for now. The virus will find us. Our combined power is like a beacon so it will probably come after us at some point. Then I will subdue it, and you will help me send it away. But for now, we wait."

"So I'm about to have a totally average and boring summer?"

"No, I'll be there every step of the way." Dia smiled a little too sweetly at that point.

Amu groaned and flopped back on her bed.

Dia said, "I know you're depressed right now, but things will get better. You have the power of stars, it should help heal you and make you more open to the world."

"But it doesn't. I've never been outgoing, and I don't really want to be."

"But, Amu, you are like a representative for your world. If any people from other worlds come to yours, you have speak on your world's behalf."

"It's all been good so far though."

Dia didn't look like she believed her. Amu sat up and took a deep breath, trying to figure out the words to say to her.

"I was really only depressed because I thought that I was insane for liking my dreams more than reality. Now I know it was real, so it should be all good."

Dia nodded, satisfied enough with the explanation. Then Amu went back to her now usual dreamless sleep.

**A/N: So that was more than a little confusing. Basically, Amu has magical power that will help Dia catch the bad guy. Dia is like a police officer from her world that was sent to this one. Hopefully, that brief summary made more sense. Anyways, thank you all the people who have reviewed or favorited or followed this story so far. I wasn't sure if I should continue this at first, but your support has convinced me otherwise! Also, I've been super busy these past few weeks (vacation with the parents for an excessive amount of time) so I haven't gotten a chance to do a lot of writing :( But that will change! I promise you that! **


	4. Chapter 4

Amu sighed as she walked into the airport. The airport was humid and there were throngs of people hustling around her. She adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She had just landed in New York and needed to find her ride to the Hamptons.

A couple of days ago Rima had called, begging Amu to come visit her at her summerhouse. Amu had been reluctant at first; she had nothing better to do, as Dia pointed out. Dia was the one who had always wanted to go to New York. Lately, Dia had been acting as Amu's personal counselor, helping her be more social. Amu was very reluctant, but Dia was very persistent. It was halfway through summer, and Amu found herself strangely excited to go to the beach.

Rima was the only one at the house when she arrived. The whole gang was apparently here, each person conveniently having some business nearby. Kukai and Nagihiko had a sports camp, Utau had a modeling gig, and Kairi had some lecture/seminar thing to go to. Amu felt awkward that she was just here on she walked inside Rima's house, she were greeted by a crystal chandelier. Everything in the foyer was classy and shiny; those were the only words Amu thought that described the room. There was a grand staircase that lead to the next floor, massive paintings of landscapes filled the walls, fake flowers in pots arranged aesthetically, and to the left was a waiting room complete with black leather couches and a mahogany coffee table. They toured the house and Rima showed her to her room.

Amu's room was styled kind of like a French brothel: deep red walls with dark furniture, intricate swirls on the bed's headboard, and a satin bedspread. She started to unpack when Dia went wild.

"Wow!" she exclaimed." Look at this place!" Dia was flying around looking at everything. She paused at the window.

She said, "Amu! You have got to look at this view! The ocean is so beautiful this time of day!"

Amu got up and walked over to the window. She had to admit that she had a spectacular view. She was able to see the entire backyard, including the pool and the garden, and she was able to see the long stretch of the ocean into the horizon. She looked down by the garden and saw Nagihiko and Rima.

"Hey, I didn't know Nagihiko was here already," Amu said.

She watched them for a moment. Before she turned away out of guilt from spying, Nagihiko got down on one knee and held up something, most likely a box.

Amu gaped and Dia shouted, "What the heck!"

Amu couldn't believe it. Nagihiko was proposing to Rima! Amu knew they were way too young to make that sort of commitment.

They watched as Rima took a step back. She did not know what they were saying but Rima took off running, leaving Nagihiko who stood up and called after her.

Amu turned to Dia, "What do you think that was about?"

"Not sure. But it didn't look good."

Amu heard footsteps and peeked out to see Rima running up the stairs, sobbing. Amu went after her to try to comfort her friend. She knocked on her door.

"Rima? It's Amu. Can I come in?"

No answer. Just wheezing. Amu took the silence as an invite to go in anyway. She opened the door and walked over to the bed, where Rima had her face buried in the pillow.

"What's wrong?" she asked, even though Amu already knew.

"N-Nagi pro-proposed to me," Rima stammered.

"Then why are you upset? He'll understand if you're not ready."

"He doesn't really want to marry me."

Now Amu was confused. She may be kind of antisocial and oblivious to others' feelings, but she felt that she had a grasp on the concept of proposal and marriage. "But he _proposed_ to you."

"You just don't understand."

Obliviously she didn't, but Amu tried to be sympathetic and said she was beautiful, a total catch, and all that jazz, like a good friend was supposed to do. Rima then cut her off.

"Yeah, but that's not the reason why he proposed to me. He only did it because he felt guilty."

Amu had absolutely no idea what she meant. She just looked at Rima, hoping she would further explain. Rima's next statement cleared everything up.

"I'm pregnant."


	5. Chapter 5

Amu sighed as she sat on the barstool. Her feet wearing killing her. She was wearing some cute strappy heels, but made the soles of her feet ache. She looked around trying to locate Rima. Everyone staying at Rima's summerhouse had gone to a place called Ruby's. It was a bar that they were allowed in at eighteen, but they just couldn't drink. However, that didn't stop older men from offering to buy them drinks.

Of course, with Rima being pregnant she wasn't allowed to drink. She was in denial though, so it was Amu's (with Dia's help) personal mission to get Rima to not drink. More difficult than one would think since Nagihiko and Rima were ignoring each other because of their fight. With a boyfriend at Rima's side, no one would hit on her.

"Remind me to kill Nagihiko later," Amu muttered to Dia. "This is supposed to be _his_ job to fight off Rima's admirers."

Amu felt dizzy. Rima accepted many drinks from strangers that night, and Amu had to dispose of all of it. She drank half of it and gave the others to random strangers. Amu had never consumed hard liquor before and two shots and a couple cosmos were starting to get to her.

She spotted Rima dancing with some stranger. Nagihiko and Kairi were talking to some girls at a table across the room. She saw Utau and Kukai wander off earlier and she didn't even want to know what those two were up to. Amu got up to go yell at Nagihiko when she tripped. Luckily for her there was a cute blond boy ready to catch her.

"Sorry," she slurred.

"No problem," he said. "My name's Tadase. It's nice to meet you, but I think you need to slow down with the drinks."

Amu thought about how to convey that the only reason she was drunk was to prevent her pregnant friend from drinking without making a scene. She stared at his face for a while, gaping. He really was cute, just not her type.

"Amu!" Nagihiko exclaimed. "Are you okay? We saw you fall across the room." She saw Nagihiko and Kairi weaving their way through the crowd. How much more embarrassing could this get? Amu was angry when she realized this was all Nagi's fault.

"Listen here!" Amu shouted, wrenching her arm from Tadase's grip. "This is all your fault. You just left Rima in her condition to all these loser guys that I had to protect her from! You guys had one fight and now you act like you were never in a relationship. You completely ignored the fact that I now have developed alcoholism in order to help _your _girlfriend! I thought we were friends, but you've been completely ignoring me!"

Amu was panting at that point. So she was the honest drunk type. She found that incredibly annoying.

"Amu, why don't we go outside," Nagihiko suggested. Amu agreed, but only because everyone was staring at her. They went outside and Amu sat on the curb.

Nagihiko stood facing away from her and said, "I really messed up this time."

"That's not true. I got a little carried away with my outburst."

"No, you're right. I should be there more for Rima. But at the first sign of trouble, I ran away. When Rima told me she was pregnant, I just thought I had to make this right, so I proposed to her. When she rejected me, I thought that she just didn't want me or hated me for doing this to her. But thanks to you, now I know that I just need to be there for her, at least as a friend if not more."

He turned to Amu and said, "Thanks for helping me realize that before it was too late. We are friends and I care about you a lot. Sorry you had to get drunk because of my mistakes. I'll go get everyone and we'll head back to the house."

"That sounds good," she said. "Sorry about screaming at you. Looks like I'm the honest, screaming drunk."

He laughed. "And you're quite the flamenco dancer as well. You were really killing it on the dance floor."

"What!" Amu didn't remember any of that. And the entire night as she would find out the next day.


End file.
